


This is Where We Are

by vladamsandler



Category: Bright (2017)
Genre: Drama, Gen, One Shot, gunshot wound, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 11:53:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13340715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vladamsandler/pseuds/vladamsandler
Summary: As suggested by AO3 user, Hobbyartist.Nick gets shot while on duty. Ward’s pissed.





	This is Where We Are

 

Ears ringing, blood pumping. The bullet shells sing out on the pavement.

The adrenaline triggers a strange calmness in Ward, a clarity in his mind. He sees his objective clearly: eliminate the aggressor at any cost.

At almost any cost.

Jakoby’s response is more emotional. He has trained for this exact moment to save as many lives as possible. This includes his partner’s.

Jakoby knows he doesn’t have anyone in particular to live for, he accepted his fate as a bargaining chip for the lives of the innocent civilians of Los Angeles years ago. Ward, on the other hand, has a beautiful wife and a daughter with a blinding bright future. He has a real family.

If anyone is worth giving his life for it is this man, who is so greatly loved.

Ward feels his stomach drop when Jakoby suddenly breaks cover to push up. _“JAKOBY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”_ His screams go unanswered aside from a burst of shots from the gangbangers on the other side of the dirt road.

“God _damn_ it!” he pants as he wipes his brow. He glances over the bullet hole-ridden car he’s using for cover, and then makes a break for Jakoby’s position. His precision is a godsend as he nails one of the criminals with the semi-automatic.

In the subsequent confusion, one shooter tries to make a run for it and Jakoby pops up to snatch him with his handgun. His movement is so sudden, however, Ward is unable to anticipate the need for cover-fire and he hears the gut-wrenching, bloody sound of a bullet piercing the edge of Jakoby’s kevlar vest.

 _“Agh—“_ Jakoby slams back against the makeshift scrap metal wall with a grunt. He squeezes his eyes shut and breathes hard through the waves of pain. He’s known worse, but it comes as a shock every time.

The blood painting Jakoby’s uniform lights a fire in Ward’s eyes. His burning anger funnels into the clarity, and the vision of his task sharpens like a knife.

He clenches his teeth, waiting for the right moment, listening to the pattern of intermittent reloads between the last two shooters. A split second into the silent pause in gunfire spurs him into action, and with a war yell he stands straight up and zeros in on two sequential headshots.

The sound of the last shots echoes down the nearby allyway before all goes quiet. Ward holsters his gun and moves quickly towards Jakoby’s ragged breathing.

“Nice shots, partner.”

“Shut the hell up,” Ward growls. “Are you looking to get killed? Do you think this is a game?”

Jakoby’s filed tusks peek as he grits his teeth. “So, what? Only you are allowed to be the hero?” He flicks the safety on his handgun and sets it aside in the dirt.

“Yes! I’m the hero and you’re my orc bodyguard, remember?”

“Fuck you.”

Ward shakes his head, unamused at their half-hearted banter. It’s a reflex of his in situations that he feels are out of his control, but it doesn’t relieve his frustration.

“Agh, don’t fucking touch it!” Jakoby hisses.

“Oh, you don’t want me to put pressure on it? Well you should’ve thought of that before you let those thugs put a bullet in you.” Ward pushes Jakoby’s hands away and rips at the velcro on his vest. He gently leans the orc forward to lift it over his head before stripping his own longsleeve shirt and balling it up.

“Why is everything always my fault?” Jakoby is sweating now, looking quite pale. The bite is gone from his words, leaving him to sound almost pitiful.

“Shut _up.”_ Ward presses his shirt across the wound and holds the entry and exit points each with one hand, stemming the bloodflow.

The two men breathe for a moment, wondering how far out backup and medical still are. Jakoby leans his head back against the cool metal and closes his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he concedes.

“No,” Ward shakes his head, “you don’t _get_ to be sorry.”

Jakoby squints one eye at his partner with a frown. “What is your problem? Just relax, will you?”

Ward keeps shaking his head slowly, mouth pressed in a tight line. “Nope. Not this time.”

“Wh—“

“This isn’t happening anymore, you got that?” Ward looks Jakoby straight in the eye, communicating a silent intensity. “Don’t you fucking do this to me again.”

Jakoby’s eyebrows pinch in confusion and he cocks his head. “Ward, I—“

“Not again! Not this bullshit!” Ward presses on Jakoby’s wound to emphasize his words and the orc snarls.

 _“Ow!_ What the _hell,_ Ward?!”

“You really don’t remember do you? Getting shot? Right there.” Ward pokes Jakoby in the center of his chest. “I saw _everything._ I watched you die, you piece of shit! Do you know what that’s like?”

Jakoby is starting to feel woozy. He can’t quite remember why Ward is yelling at him so he relents with a sigh. “I’m sorry.” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry...”

“Wake up! Look at me! This is not it, okay? They’re coming, and they’re going to patch you up, and you’re going to be fine! Got that?” Ward blinks rapidly.

Jakoby nods and squints with his eyebrows raised. “Okay.” He feels kind of cold and numb and sleepy. He’s conscious enough to know he’s about to pass out. “Hey... listen to me for second.”

Ward shakes his head with a tight frown, but doesn’t interrupt.

“I just... I just want you to know that it’s better me than you, okay?”

“Don’t fucking talk like that.”

“No, I mean,” Jakoby blinks at the dark spots in his vision. “Just, listen...” He fumbles on his words.

“Stay _awake,_ Jakoby, god damn it!”

“It’s gonna be fine, okay? You’ve got... Sherri and... Sophia... and you’re going to be okay... The three of you are going to be fine...”

The tension in Ward’s shoulders releases suddenly at the sound of an ambulance siren down the block. “Nick, you matter too, okay?” He says softly, slumping to sit in the dirt, careful not to let up on the pressure in his hands. “You matter to us. You matter to me. Quit trying to die. I’m the hero, remember?”

“F... uck you...” Jakoby’s head lolls as he passes out.

Ward laughs weakly. He leans his head against his unconscious partner’s and listens to several cars pull up. He can feel the warmth of Nick’s blood in his hands and staining his clothes.

He’s never going to let this happen again.

 


End file.
